Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conductor
Yuja Wang piano
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
“Philadelphia has the finest orchestra I have ever heard at any time or any place in my whole life. I don’t know that I would be exaggerating if I said that it is the finest orchestra the world has ever heard.”—Sergei Rachmaninoff
Yuja Wang brings her electrifying style to the Orchestra stage for must-see performances of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos in a celebration of his 150th birthday.
Part 1 of this celebration features the composer’s stirring Piano Concerto No. 1, written by the composer at the age of 18, still discovering his voice and style, and revised almost 30 years later. The brooding and emotional Piano Concerto No. 2, a work Rachmaninoff wrote as he overcame compositional paralysis brought on by the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, follows.
The program concludes with Wang and Your Philadelphia Orchestra performing Rachmaninoff’s beautiful Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
Related Concert
Don’t miss Part 2 of Rachmaninoff 150 featuring Wang performing the composer’s Third and Fourth piano concertos on January 27 and February 5.
Lead support for the Rachmaninoff 150 Celebration is provided by Tatiana Copeland. Mrs. Copeland’s mother was the niece of Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Tatiana Copeland was named after the composer’s daughter, Tatiana Sergeyevna Rachmaninoff.